What we say about the firm's legal practice in United States
Real estate and construction
Within Construction (including construction litigation), Peckar & Abramson is a first tier firm,
‘There are not many firms in the US that offer more in-depth expertise in construction litigation’ than Peckar & Abramson, which has ‘top-level knowledge in the field and vast national coverage’, despite having closed its Orlando and Fort Lauderdale offices in 2009 and 2010. The practice also recently saw four partner departures, but it continues to reap involvement on high-value transactions and disputes. The group spans eight offices nationwide and includes 78 full-time construction lawyers. Focused on representing general contractors, the firm has a well-connected national presence, active in New Jersey, New York, California, Washington DC and Chicago, while maintaining a strong Florida practice from Miami. The team is currently advising on the largest public-private partnership project in the US, involving a multibillion-dollar federal highway development in South Florida; Jerry Brodsky (who is originally from Peru and manages the firm’s Latin American practice group) and Melinda Gentile are leading the advice to a Spanish contractor on contract negotiations, project administration and claims avoidance and resolution. In New York, the practice is involved in a major arbitration before the ICC, representing a Canadian energy infrastructure company in a $120m construction dispute with a US contractor; the case relates to the building and operation of a 2,000-mile oil pipeline costing $12bn. Clients praise founding partner Robert Peckar, whose ‘knowledge and experience are second to none’. He and other lawyers in the practice have strong links with national construction committees; Peckar has been general counsel at the Construction Financial Management Association for over 25 years and is co-chair of the Construction Superconference. The ‘well-respected’ chairman and managing partner, Steven Charney and ‘top lawyer’ Stephen Reisman are also recommended, managing the firm’s New York and Florida practices respectively. The firm is currently focusing on the expansion of its corporate compliance practice, which works closely with the construction law group, and Thomas Curran recently joined the firm as a key driver of this initiative, with a background in compliance and white-collar crime work.